The Age of the Spinoff is in Full Force in Popular Culture

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The entertainment industry has evolved into a huge behemoth that spans films, television, games, and other related media. Because people are faced with such a vast number of options, developers now have to create content that they are sure will be a hit.

One sure-fire way to do this is to create a spinoff of an already successful title. There are now loads of official spinoffs coming out on streaming services, but there are also plenty of indirect spinoffs that try to capitalize on the success of another IP.

Casino Industry Has Examples of Indirect Spinoffs

One of the best places to find indirect spinoffs is the casino industry. Sometimes there are officially licensed games in this market, but other times developers get creative and think of titles that have a loose link to other offerings.

For example, George R.R. Martin’s writing inspired plenty of works that were designed to piggyback on the popularity of his A Song of Ice and Fire series. Among the latest Slingo bingo games, Slingo Fire & Ice stands out because it’s distinctly reminiscent of those novels. The game features these two opposing elements and players have to spin the reels to see which one will be the victor. It reminds fans of the epic opposing forces within the world of Westeros – the Others and Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons.

Daenerys Targaryen
The Age of the Spinoff is in Full Force in Popular Culture

There are plenty of other titles that have been influenced by other works in this market as well. These include games like Slingo Cleopatra, which is boosted by the notoriety of the 1962 movie. There’s also Slingo Money Train, which is designed to appeal to fans of the resurgent Western genre.

Streaming Wars Clash Over Next Batch of Spinoffs

If you thought there were already loads of spinoffs to choose from in entertainment, get ready for a lot more. The streaming wars could be won by the platforms that create the biggest and best franchises, with streaming giants already leading the way with superhero franchises, original franchises and adaptations of familiar material. HBO is on the rise, setting sights on its next major spinoff.

According to recent reports, the Tales of Dunk and Egg will be the next Westeros spinoff for HBO. A series of novellas set in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe are the basis for the story and characters, and so this series can be directly adapted from Martin’s work, which should prove as good news for viewers. These began with The Hedge Knight in 1998, with the subsequent sequel The Sworn Sword in 2003, and then again in 2010 with The Mystery Knight.

Tales of Dunk and Egg
The Age of the Spinoff is in Full Force in Popular Culture

Unlike in the main series, Martin keeps things focused in the Dunk and Egg books. There aren’t many disparate narratives to keep track of, and the stories are much more basic. This should make them easy to translate to the screen. They also provide some direct backstory to the events of his other works, so the new show can add some more depth to those as well.

In today’s sprawling entertainment industry, you can bet that if a series or film is successful, it will lead to spinoffs. Nowadays, people want as many ways as possible to enjoy their favorite titles, and one of the best ways to do this is through consuming all the related content.  

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